Thicker than Water
by whitelilies
Summary: Christmas, a day to spend with family and friends. Even with Uzumi's death, the only family Cagalli knew, she realizes she can still be happy. Family oneshot


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam SEED/Destiny or any of its characters. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N**: Surprisingly, no pairings this time, dear readers. This is a short story which takes place ten years after the second war. Possible out of character-ness. Enjoy :)

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_Silent night, holy night_

_All is calm, all is bright_

_Round yon virgin, Mother and Child_

Even with the song repeating over and over again, Cagalli would never get sick of listening to it. The song was the first one heard at her first Christmas. As she hung a round silver ornament, which was decorating with sparkles, on a lower branch of the fake fir tree, the blonde listened for hurried footsteps.

Blaire should be coming down the stairs located behind her any moment with the box of blue ornaments in hand. This year, both mother and son decided for their tree to be decorated blue and silver. Last year's theme was red and gold.

"Mum!" Cagalli, who was kneeling on her knees, looked over her shoulder and upwards to find a brown haired boy leaning against the railing with a white box by his feet.

"Kisaka and I only found these ones, are they okay?"

Auburn eyes squinted at the plain and round ornament held in Blaire's hand. They would work well with the sparkly silver ones.

"They'll do. Bring it down and careful on the way."

As the blonde waited for the boy to climb down the stairs, Cagalli reached for the silver tinsel placed on the patch of floor across from her and started wrapping it around the tree. Doing so, her eyes caught a gold framed picture which Kiska placed on top of the coffee table.

She smiled.

"Why are you smiling?"

Twelve year old Blaire asked as he put the box next to the huge pile of decorations. Silence between the two Attha members ensued after the younger asked his question. The next lines of the song was heard before Cagalli spoke.

"The last time I saw this picture was about two years ago."

Blaire watched his mother walk over to the photograph Kisaka put together in Photoshop the other day. Originally, it was a picture taken ten years ago with eight people when he first came into the Attha household. The older man said Cagalli would appreciate it and he couldn't be more right. From what he was told, the people were those close to his foster mother.

Except for those who passed away during the war, Blaire met each one of those people.

In the picture, the blonde Representative sat in the middle on a vanity bench with a blue haired male to her right and a brown haired male behind her with a hand on her shoulder. Their names were Kira and Athrun. On either side of Kira, Erica and Kisaka stood. Lacus, a pink haired woman, sat between Cagalli and another woman who went by the name of Murrue.

Another man with black hair named Shinn sat on the floor in front of the blonde next to another brown haired adult who was named Miriallia. And on Cagalli's lap sat a baby Blaire.

The modifications made weren't obvious really, in Blaire's opinion. Uzumi, his granddad, Todoka, Orb's deceased Commander and three other girls who he didn't know were placed in. They were all in a garden with doves flying in the background. The picture seemed peaceful.

"Mum? Are they all coming to the party tomorrow?"

Auburn eyes rested on his green ones and before she could answer, a deep voice called from the second floor.

"Cagalli, who do think is going to cook, exactly? You've shooed the maids and servants away…and did you open the present you _weren't_ supposed to open?"

Kisaka, a firmly built man and her former bodyguard, asked as he made his way down the stairs and then towards them. He was frowning.

Blaire looked over to the blonde, "Well Kisaka, did you ever wonder why I asked father for you to take those cooking classes with me? And yes, this tank top looked pretty comfy but it is winter."

"…You're kidding me."

It was more of a statement than a question and the last sentence was ignored. The man sighed when the blonde shook her head. Subtle amusement passed through her features as the Captain of the Kussangi hesitated before making his way to the kitchen.

"Really, Cagalli, you can be so lazy."

The woman frowned at Kisaka as he looked at the two over his shoulder.

"I am not!"

"Then why don't you cook?"

"Fine! I wi-"

She stopped herself on time and blinked.

"Oh, nice try! Representative Attha has given an order and you must follow!"

Blaire chuckled at the exchange between the two adults. Kisaka's eyes rolled at the words and continued his way to the kitchen. With a triumphed grin, Cagalli returned to the tree with her son in tow.

"You gotta be sharp with people."

She looked down at him and tapped her temple. "…But he got you…Almost! I meant almost!"

Athrun Zala, the other man considered to be an uncle, always told Blaire about his mother's reckless behaviour which got her in trouble many times. He also told tales of the famous 'Mars temper', as dubbed by Miriallia Haww after the Roman God of war, and how it was best to stay on the blonde's good side.

As Blaire ran around the tree, running away from his mother and the roll of wrapping paper she was trying to attack him with, the child realized _why_ it was always best to go with what she said. He didn't think something small like that would get into her.

"Sorry!"

"Got me? Say that again you little brat!"

"KISAKA!"

The twelve year old called out as the blonde tackled him to the ground, tickling him without mercy. The shout attracted Kisaka, who wasn't aware of the flour adorned along the top of his head, to run out of the kitchen.

He sighed when not seeing any intruders inside like expected. Though, no one should be able to get past the security he personally picked out for the queen and the prince.

"Cagalli, get off of him, you're going to suffocate him."

While reaching to pull the blonde off the boy, Kiska forgot about the abnormal strength she possessed. Because of the forgotten fact, he was dragged into the fight between mother and son.

_Holy infant so tender and mild,_

_Sleep in -_

The home entertainment system - which Kira gave Blaire as a birthday present - playing the Christmas CD was knocked over during the struggle. No one noticed. Cagalli was busy trying to push Kisaka away from her to reach the boy, Blaire kept pushing the man between them and poor Kisaka tried multitasking. He tried to get away from the woman's claws and pushing Blaire at least five feet away.

After ten minutes of struggling, all three collapsed, breathing heavily.

"That…was…scary."

Attha junior stated as he rolled over to lay on his stomach to look at the others. They nodded and attempted to get up.

"Cagalli, what is the matter with you? Blaire is only twelve!"

"Meh…whatever Kisaka. Did you finish the food?"

"No."

"Well, it's lovely to see my little sister so active."

Kisaka and Blaire turned towards the doorway as they heard a voice not heard in a month or so. The latter smiled and ran towards Kira's now outstretched arms, jumping into them. The man chuckled and inquired how his favourite nephew was doing.

"Great! But mum tried to kill me."

"First of all, it's _older_ sister and second, I did not try to kill you. It wouldn't have happened if you didn't call for Kiska like that!"

Cagalli 'magically' appeared to Kira's side and made an effort to flick Blaire's forehead. The speed of Coordinators was a force to reckon with, though. It was probably a good thing that the _Ultimate_ Coordinator was her brother…

"Is she always like this?"

Blaire asked Kira, who smiled in turn.

"All the time!"

"Oi!"

Kira dodged the arm coming towards him and ran towards the tree. He hid behind it and peeked out from the side with Blaire at his side. It gave the blonde a sense of déjà vu and she smiled.

Kira looked over at the tween.

"Blaire, do you think Cagalli should go into anger management classes? She's alright in front of citizens but when it comes down to us, she's rather nasty, ah?"

Amethyst eyes caught a twitching blonde eyebrow. "Well, that's true…she almost killed Kisaka the other day when he told her to wear a miniskirt for some reason."

As uncle and nephew continued with their comparisons of what their female relative had done to others in the name of anger, Cagalli's temper slowly rose. Her fists started to shake from a forced hold and before Kira realized what was happening, Blaire shouted,

"Run!"

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Kisaka sighed for the umpteenth time. 

"Ready?"

"Yeah!"

Even after Cagalli managed to beat the tar out of Kira and tickled Blaire's soul out, she still seemed to have energy to spare. Kira stood awkwardly since, Kisaka guess, he was sore. Blaire was still panting at an abnormal pace.

"Okay and…there."

The camera didn't flash or click but Cagalli was sure the picture was taken. She held a blue and silver wrapped present Kira gave her and walked towards the tree. Another one, addressed to Blaire, looked exactly like hers but bigger. Her silly son told the Kira about the colour theme this year.

That boy couldn't keep a secret. But she loved him anyway. As the blonde looked back at the somewhat bruised man and hyper boy, she couldn't help but feel content. For the first time since finding out they were siblings, Kira and Cagalli never spent time the holidays alone. Athrun and Lacus would usually be there in the past years – not that she minded – but there was always a romantic atmosphere.

At around this time tomorrow, Lacus and Athrun would join them. They were always the early birds to parties and small gatherings and because of that, they always got duties. Cagalli would send the servants and maids home to spend the holidays with their families. During the two weeks with Blaire and Kisaka, she would feel like a normal woman devoid of responsibilities.

"How's everyone at the orphanage?"

"They all left for Lacus' mansion in PLANTS this morning. I just came from the airport."

Kira and Blaire sat themselves down on the floor, working on wrapping gifts Kira brought over for tomorrow. Kisaka walked over to them with a bag of presents Cagalli totally forgot to wrap and joined in on their conversation.

She smiled.

Ten years ago, she wouldn't have been able to imagine the scene in front of her. Adopting a son never passed through her mind until she spent some time at her father's grave. The war finally came to an end and everyone was stressed.

Thanks to Athrun, she made peace with Shinn after a long talk. Talking with the ZAFT soldier was a good move because from that, she learned to improve on some things. Both reached a mutual understanding of the other.

Then a year after, Athrun confessed to her. But Orb took up so much of her time that it wouldn't be fair to him. He understood and from there, he offered to be stationed as Orb's military officer. Kira left to PLANTS to take care of Lacus for a little while before coming back to take care of the orphans with the Reverend.

Even if Lacus wouldn't be at PLANTS this Christmas, the children still wanted to go there for a vacation. Murrue, Andy and Mwu would be helping the blind man with the young ones.

An unknown weight was placed on top of her shoulder in the form of Torii, the mechanical bird. It chirped and rubbed against her cheek affectionately before sitting itself on the top of the tree.

"Kisaka, can you help me with my room after? I don't want the maids helping since they'd probably be busy with the cleaning."

Blaire asked, trying to get the tangled tape off his small hands.

"To rearrange the furniture, right?"

"Making a new layout for your room, Blaire? I thought you just moved everything around last month." Kira asked as she watched Cagalli's eccentric wrapping.

"Yeah…but I don't like it."

"Alright, then I'll help you two as well, if you don't mind."

"Never uncle Kira!"

While Cagalli stared at Torii, the thought of her son made her smile once more. If it wasn't for that trip at the graveyard ten years ago, she wouldn't have ever found little Blaire at Uzumi's grave.

He was crying and left there in the cold fall weather. Blue blankets were wrapped around the little body and a piece of paper was tucked in to the side. Information about the boy was in there, like his birthplace, background, birthday, and some other minor information. His name was Blaire and he was born in Ireland.

No one else had ever brought the amount of joy Blaire brought into her life. A love she didn't know about emerged from inside and she discovered the bliss of being a mother. Cagalli was extremely happy when everyone received him well.

Although, she didn't tell the citizens of the adoption but they probably knew. Nothing usually got past them.

"Mom! We need help…these are hard to wrap…"

The defeated voice of Blaire called out to her. Before the thought of getting up crossed her mind, Kira threw another unwanted statement.

"Blaire, I thought you knew your mother couldn't do things like these. Why do you think Kisaka usually ends up with present duty every year?"

"Ki-ra…I'm going to- oh, it's snowing!"

Three males snorted at the sudden change of heart. She jogged over towards the doorway from the window and opened it. The wind blew at her face, causing Cagalli to close her eyelids. As she stood there absorbed in her own little world, she realized the amount of happiness life could bring.

"Here, you might get sick."

Kira draped his jacket on her bare shoulders. With an arm around over her shoulder, Kira watched the sky drop white tuffs. Auburn eyes were directed at the sky as well after thanking the man.

Even though the wounds of the last war still lingered in their hearts, they were to be forgotten for two days. Christmas was a time to spend with family and friends and catch up on lost times.

As the twins sighed, a head poked through from behind them. They both made room for Blaire to squeeze through them. He snuggled against Cagalli and the jacket because the dropping temperature was too much for his body to handle.

As the blonde placed her hand on the boy's shoulder, she understood how much family meant.

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End file.
